Combustion air intake apparatus for fuel-fired, direct vent heating appliance

摘要

An outside air intake hood for receiving combustion air for delivery to a direct vent, fuel-fired heating appliance such as a water heater has an opposing pair of side inlets positionable to face parallel to an outside wall upon which the hood is mounted, an outer side wall extending between the inlets, and an outlet passage with an entry portion facing and spaced inwardly apart from the outer side wall. A generally V-shaped baffle member is positioned within the hollow body of the hood, with an apex portion of the baffle member facing the entry portion of the outlet passage. When the wind is horizontally blowing generally parallel to the outside wall, a side wall of the baffle member deflects the wind-driven outside air entering one of the hood side inlets into the outlet passage in a manner converting momentum of the entering air into pressure in a manner preventing the creation of an undesirable vacuum at the hood outlet. A bypass passage disposed within the hood outwardly of the outlet passage entry portion communicates the two side outlets and prevents undesirable wind-created overpressurization of the outlet passage. Such bypass passage representatively extends through a gap between the baffle and the entry portion of the outlet passage and may also extend through the baffle itself.